Uma by COMO, Paro, Bhutan review: Queen of the stone age

High above sea level but deeply relaxed, Louise Southerden lives like royalty in a mountain-top retreat.

Splash, splash. Two heated stones the size of rockmelons slide down a wooden ramp into the square wooden bath I'm reclining in, making wavelets that cause the pretty pink and white chrysanthemum flowers on the water to bob up and down. There are no taps on this traditional hot-stone bath, so a Buddhist singing bowl is the only means of getting the water temperature just right: you strike it and an attendant in the next room sends in the stones. At Uma Paro, even while taking a bath, you're very much in Bhutan.

A winding road leads up the side of one of the mountains encircling Paro, in western Bhutan, to this distinctly Bhutanese sanctuary. Uma Paro's white-washed main building resembles the farmhouses and fortress-temples (dzongs) all over Bhutan; the staff wear national dress - a kind of knee-length dressing-gown called a gho for men, a long striped skirt called a kira for women. Everyone ends their sentences with the Bhutanese honorific, "la" - as in "Good morning, la" - which feels kind as well as respectful.

With only 29 rooms and suites, Uma Paro could feel exclusive; instead, like the Bhutanese people themselves, it's warm-hearted and welcoming. Within minutes of entering the spacious, almost spartan lobby, I'm sitting in a comfortable chair looking through glass doors at a stone patio and a blue sky, sipping sweet masala tea (a reminder that India wraps around Bhutan on three sides). It feels more like the reception area for a spa than a luxury hotel. The air seems scented, there's soft ambient music and a singing bowl sits on every table - not that you ever need to call for service; with 160 staff for an average of 60 guests, there's always someone nearby.

In the main building there's the Bukhari restaurant (named after its traditional central fireplace with stones on top to keep the room warm when the fire goes out), the deluxe rooms with views of the Paro Valley, the library, the COMO Shambhala spa and the yoga studio. There's also a gym and an indoor pool (one of only two hotel pools in Bhutan) - I can recommend an evening swim in the 36-degree water with the chilly alpine air wafting in through open French doors.

Scattered through the grounds, linked by pebble paths lit with lanterns at night, are the villas, which are almost ridiculously roomy. Mine has a sitting room (with fireplace, couch and dining table), a kitchen (for my friendly butler, Jeewan, to prepare room-service meals) and an enormous bedroom with a large window looking onto blue pine trees, a day-bed futon and Bhutanese patterns hand-painted on to one wall. There's an equally enormous bathroom and my very own massage room and private rock garden. I'm surprised to see a flat-screen TV but the general manager later assures me that after an active day at altitude, guests enjoy retiring early with a DVD (the movie menu includes films by Bhutanese director and lama Khyentse Norbu such as The Cup and Travellers and Magicians).

Uma Paro recommends staying at least three nights and it's not hard to see why. For one thing, it takes a day or two to acclimatise - the resort is 2280 metres above sea level and you can feel the thinness of the air if you hurry (which is a good reason not to). For another, this little mountain kingdom has scenic delights and adventures around every hairpin corner.

A must-do, of course, is the all-day hike to the Tiger's Nest, a 17th-century monastery that clings to a cliff just outside Paro. Another is the downhill bike ride from Chele La, the highest road pass in Bhutan at 3988 metres, which Uma Paro pioneered in 2004. The ride includes a walk to a remote Buddhist nunnery, which is testimony to Uma Paro's warmth extending to its surroundings.